1113Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.H11100IntroReferral2017-04-052House floor actionshsed00Education and LaborIntroduced in HouseIntro-HIntroReferral2017-04-059Library of CongressIntroduced in House1000IntroReferral2017-04-059Library of CongressHead Start Improvement Act of 2017EducationCongressional oversightEducation of the disadvantagedEducation programs fundingGovernment studies and investigationsPreschool education2017-01-23Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.SCRSIdentical bill115185Head Start Improvement Act of 20171.0.02017-04-05T04:00:00Zhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115hr1921ih/xml/BILLS-115hr1921ih.xmlIntroduced in House2017-04-05Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.2017-04-06T03:11:54Z1921False3RD000615Rep. Duncan, Jeff [R-SC-3]Jeff2057D0006158143Duncan2017-04-26SCFalse6RD000621Rep. DeSantis, Ron [R-FL-6]Ron2116D000621DeSantis2017-04-28FLFalse2P.RD000628Rep. Dunn, Neal P. [R-FL-2]NealD0006282315Dunn2017-05-19FLB001299IN2326B001299JimBanksRep. Banks, Jim [R-IN-3]3R[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 5, 2017)]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. BANKS of Indiana:H.R. 1921.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article 1, Section 8: The Congress shall have power . . .To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper forcarrying into execution the foregoing powers vested by thisConstitution in the government of the United States, or inany department or officer thereof.[Page H2754]]]>1152017-04-05Head Start Improvement Act of 2017

This bill amends the Head Start Act to replace the existing Head Start program with block grants to states and Indian tribes for prekindergarten (pre-K) education.

Instead of providing direct financial assistance to Head Start agencies, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall allot block grant funds for pre-K education among eligible states and Indian tribes in accordance with their relative proportions of children, age five and younger, from low-income households. Grant recipients shall use the grant funds to: (1) award subgrants to eligible entities that provide pre-K education programs; (2) administer such programs; and (3) provide technical assistance, oversight, monitoring, research, and training.

Under current law, HHS is authorized to designate, monitor, and establish standards for Head Start agencies. The bill instead shifts pre-K program oversight and control to states and Indian tribes, which shall have full flexibility to use grant funds to finance the pre-K programs of their choice. In addition, grant recipients may use grant funds to establish portable voucher systems that allow costs to be paid for attendance at private pre-K education programs.

Under current law, federal financial assistance for a Head Start program is generally limited to 80% of total program costs. The bill maintains this limitation by requiring grant recipients to provide matching funds equal to 20% of the grant amount.

]]>Introduced in House00Introduced in House2017-04-05T04:00:00Z2017-04-17T16:34:37Z2019-01-09T21:10:56ZHouse2017-04-05EducationShort Titles as IntroducedHead Start Improvement Act of 2017Official Title as IntroducedTo amend the Head Start Act to authorize block grants to States for prekindergarten education, and for other purposes.Display TitleHead Start Improvement Act of 2017(Extracted from GPO) Short Titles as IntroducedHead Start Improvement Act of 2017HR2017-04-05T14:05:00ZReferred toHouseStandinghsed00Education and Labortext/xmlENPursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.Congressional Research Service, Library of CongressThis file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.